


Next Stop: Love

by cupofgenmaicha (orphan_account)



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Crushes, Fluff, M/M, meet cute, rated t for some language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2020-11-02 06:01:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20645744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/cupofgenmaicha
Summary: Hyungwon really doesn’t mind the commute; it’s relatively quiet and a straight shot to Gangnam—and the cute guy who always sits across the aisle from him is certainly an added bonus.





	Next Stop: Love

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Hyungwon has a crush on the guy who gets the same bus/train as him every day. He's never spoken to him, but they always smile when they see each other. One day, Hyungwon accidentally falls asleep on his shoulder.

Every weekday morning at 7:13 am, Hyungwon sucks down the last of his iced americano and boards the bus; if he’s lucky, he nabs a window seat near the rear of the bus, and watches the city blur past him during the roughly forty minute ride to Gangnam. As an avid artist and designer, architecture was a natural career path for him, but in a city where competition for full-time positions is high, he was lucky to be offered a job at his uncle’s firm. For the last two years, he’s put his degree to good use as he’s navigated planning and zoning laws, building codes, and environmental regulations while designing modern low-energy use buildings for clients throughout the Seoul Metropolitan area.

Hyungwon finds that he thinks best when he’s staring out the window; he works through design flaws and near-impossible client requirements all while watching glass skyscrapers, vast greenspaces, boldly painted wall murals and apartment buildings pass by in a blur. He really doesn’t mind the commute; it’s relatively quiet and a straight shot to Gangnam—and the cute guy who always sits across the aisle from him is certainly an added bonus.

At 7:17 am, Hyungwon glances out the window as the bus pulls over to the curb and he pretends that he’s not scanning the crowd for the cute guy dressed in a business suit; he spots him just as he sucks down the last of his iced coffee before boarding the bus. He pretends that it’s normal for his heart to pound against his ribcage as he glances away from the window for a moment to meet the man’s kind brown eyes as he sits in the open seat across from him.

They’ve never spoken to each other, mostly because the cute guy seems a bit quiet and every time Hyungwon tries to choke out a simple ‘hello’, his cheeks blaze and he practically swallows his tongue. Over the last year, Hyungwon has gleaned that the cute guy works for one of the businesses in Gangnam, he’s almost as much of a coffee addict as himself, and he speaks to his mom over the phone once a week or so in a low, soft voice. 

Hyungwon also knows that the cute guy likes to jog near the river to keep fit, but he tries to block out the memory of seeing him running on the trail dressed in next to nothing, his tan skin and hard muscles glistening under the hot summer sun. Hyungwon froze with panic right in the middle of the path then let out an inhuman noise and leapt behind a tree, nearly taking a bewildered elderly cyclist along with him.

Today the cute guy is dressed in a charcoal suit, his white button down shirt neat and crisp. A shiny silver watch peeks out from under his sleeve as he types something on his phone. Hyungwon steals surreptitious glances throughout the ride, admiring his sharp jawline and pretty eyes, and how his muscles move underneath his tailored clothes. Hyungwon really should be thinking about work, but the man looks so warm and cuddly, he can’t help but wonder what it would feel like to curl up into his side. It doesn’t help that there is a cartoon bear on his phone cover. Pooh Bear; the nickname seems fitting.

Pooh Bear looks up from his phone and catches Hyungwon still staring at him with a lazy smile on his lips—busted. Hyungwon would feel a hell of a lot more embarrassed if it weren’t for the way the man’s face lights up, his dark eyes crinkling in the corners as he smiles. Still feeling slightly sheepish, Hyungwon covers his face with his hands and smiles down at his shoes. 

/ 

Tired and hungry after a long day at work, Hyungwon punches in the apartment code and is immediately assaulted by the smell of melted cheese and tomato sauce. Pizza. His stomach rumbles pathetically as he pulls off his tie and jacket, throwing them over the back of a chair to hang up later.

“I’m home! You better have saved me a slice,” Hyungwon calls out, toeing off his shoes in favor of some slippers.

“Hope you like corn because Minhyuk dumped a whole can onto the pizza!” Kihyun sing songs as he closes the oven.

Hyungwon hears Minhyuk’s yelp of protest and lopes into the kitchen just as Minhyuk tackles Kihyun to the floor and smacks him on the butt with a spatula. Luckily the pizza made it safely onto the counter first.

“Wow. Kinky,” Hyungwon comments dryly as he leans against the counter, watching them wrestle on the tile. He’s pretty sure that they’re dating, they just don’t know it yet.

Kihyun eventually pins Minhyuk, winning this round of friendly wrestling, and scrambles to his feet with a triumphant smile. Good friends since college, Hyungwon and Kihyun moved in together after graduation. Kihyun is an art gallery curator and the sole reason that their apartment doesn’t look like a generic stock photo. Framed pictures and paintings make their two-bedroom apartment feel warm and cozy. Like a home.

Minhyuk is a second-generation chaebol who owns property all over Seoul but whined so often about being lonely that the friends once invited him to stay over at their place—and he never left. Hyungwon is still not too sure what he does all day, but almost every morning he leaves their modest apartment draped in designer clothes and tailored suits to do vaguely businessy things.

Hyungwon helps himself to one of the pizza slices, folds the tip to the crust, folds it in half again, then shoves the entire slice into his mouth, descending into a blissful food coma as he chews on it.

“Wow.” Minhyuk stares at him, fascinated. “That takes talent.”

“Thank you,” he mumbles around the pizza, words muffled. After he’s finished choking it down he blurts, “Do guys ever smile at you on the train, Ki?”

Kihyun pulls a disgusted face. “Not if I can help it.”

Hyungwon hums as he considers another slice. “There’s this guy on the bus. We smile at each other every day.”

Both of his friends freeze mid-chew to stare at him. Kihyun asks, “What’s his name?”

“I don’t know.”

Kihyun isn’t eating at all anymore, his full attention burning into the side of Hyungwon’s head. “Well, what does he do?” 

“Uh,”—Hyungwon considers the question—“he wears a suit. Like Minhyuk.” He’s pretty proud of his answer, but Kihyun waves it off impatiently.

“How old is he?”

He thinks about the cute guy’s smooth tan skin and his sweet smile. “Maybe a couple years older than me?”

“Sounds like you have a crush,” Minhyuk finally chimes in as he noisily chews on more pizza. 

This was a bad idea. “I don’t have a crush,” Hyungwon protests as he stretches and fake yawns, inching backward so he can stealthily escape.

Kihyun yanks him back into the kitchen. “You should flirt with him.”

Warning sirens are blaring in Hyungwon’s head. “No,” he says emphatically as he holds his arms up in an X. “My brain locks the fuck up whenever I think about flirting.”

“Come on,” Kihyun scoffs and rolls his eyes. “It can’t be that bad. Try practicing with me. Show me flirty Hyungwon.”

Hyungwon lets out a high-pitched half-scream, half-howl and hears their neighbor’s dog howl a response through the wall.

“Okay, yeah,” Kihyun grimaces. “Please don’t flirt.”

“Even if I tried to flirt, I don’t know if he would flirt back,” Hyungwon surmises, thinking back to how red the cute guy’s ears turn whenever they smile at each other. “He seems really quiet.” 

“It’s usually quiet people who wind up being murderers,” Minhyuk says as he nods sagely.

Hyungwon picks at another slice of pizza, muttering, “Pooh Bear wouldn’t murder anyone.”

All three friends freeze and look at each other with wide eyes, then Hyungwon groans and sinks to the tile floor as his friends pile on top of him, yelling, “So he does have a name!”

/

Seoul is cool and wet this morning, the sun blotted out by blocks of grey clouds; Hyungwon pulls his coat a little tighter, thankful that the bus stop has a shelter.

“Hey!”

Hyungwon nearly leaps out of his skin at the loud, unwelcome screech in his ear. He whips around to find Minhyuk standing there, bouncing on the balls of his feet, bursting with excitement. 

“What are you doing?” Hyungwon asks, confused. Minhyuk has never, to Hyungwon’s knowledge, ridden the bus, or any other form of public transportation into work.

“Riding the bus,” Minhyuk answers like it’s obvious.

“Where’s your driver?”

Minhyuk shrugs. “I gave him the morning off.”

“Do you know which bus you need to take?” Hyungwon asks as he pulls out his phone, ready to help his friend figure out the correct route.

Minhyuk smiles brightly. “I’ll just take your bus.”

Hyungwon already feels a headache beginning to pound in his temple.

“Is this the bus?” Minhyuk pulls out his phone to snap a picture when Hyungwon nods. “It is so cute!”

Hyungwon boards first, swiping his transportation card and already halfway to the back of the bus when he hears a throat clearing behind him. Minhyuk points to the card reader and looks at him expectantly. Hyungwon grumbles under his breath as he swipes his card again. 

A light drizzle steadily patters against the window; Hyungwon has always loved the rain, how it seems to mute the city’s noise and saturate Seoul with vibrant color. His hair is a bit long, the ends wavy from the humidity; he wipes away stray droplets of water with long, slender fingers. He doesn’t even realize that he’s subconsciously counting down the minutes to the next stop until he automatically begins scanning the sidewalk.

“Where is he?” Minhyuk whispers.

“There,” Hyungwon murmurs, averting his eyes as soon as he sees the cute man boarding.

“_That’s _ Pooh Bear?” Minhyuk asks incredulously, his voice steadily rising above a whisper.

Hyungwon flicks his eyes across the aisle and notes with a mixture of dread and exhilaration that the man chose to take the empty seat there. He can’t help but smile as Pooh Bear combs fingers through his damp hair, making it look even messier than before. And maybe a bit sexy.

“Okay. First of all, on his phone, that’s Ice Bear not Pooh Bear,” Minhyuk whispers, looking mildly displeased that Hyungwon would mix up two different cartoon bears. “Second, look at his shoulders! His nickname should be Adonis or Shoulder God or something, _ not _ Pooh Bear!” 

“Shhh,” Hyungwon hisses sharply as he jabs Minhyuk in the ribs. “Stop staring at him or he’ll think that we’re talking about him.”

Minhyuk whispers with a pleased smile. “He’s looking at you.”

Hyungwon runs fingers through his hair and affects an air of nonchalance as he flicks his eyes across the aisle, and finds to his surprise that the man is looking at him with warm eyes, a small smile playing on his lips. Hyungwon feels his cheeks heat and instantly turns to face forward, sitting ramrod straight.

“Your cheeks are pink,” Minhyuk teases as he affectionately pokes Hyungwon’s hot skin.

“Minhyuk,” he warns in a low voice. “Face forward. Staring at people on the bus is creepy.”

“I bet if you sniffed him, he’d smell good.”

Hyungwon sputters and punches Minhyuk in the arm and he pushes Hyungwon in return. That’s when he hears the warm rumble of laughter coming from across the aisle; he glances over and finds that Pooh Bear is watching their theatrics and laughing, his eyes scrunched up and sparkling with mirth. Hyungwon’s stomach flips and he already wants to hear him laugh again.

Okay, maybe Hyungwon does have a crush.

/

Even though Hyungwon works full-time as an architect and certainly earns enough to pay the bills, sometimes he misses the exhilaration he felt working as a DJ during his college days. A legend among the underground club scene, Hyungwon will sometimes agree to DJ for special events, leaving work and taking the bus to Hongdae just to feel the music reverberating under his skin.

As he crawls onto the bus the morning after DJing for a VIP’s birthday party, his eyes half-closed and burning, he soon realizes his mistake. Rain pours from the sky, filling the streets with wispy meandering streams, and the bus is much more crowded than usual. The floor is wet from shoes and dripping umbrellas, and Hyungwon presses his forehead to the window, closing his eyes against the chaos of chattering children and old men complaining about the weather.

He vaguely registers that someone new is sitting next to him now; their knees touch, sending pleasant tingles over Hyungwon’s skin from that single point of contact—and the person smells nice, soft and woodsy, like sandalwood. Hyungwon is exhausted from crawling home around 3 am, and this person seems to radiate a steady, comforting warmth; he turns in his seat, his eyes still closed and sighs pleasantly right before falling asleep.

“Hey,”—a low voice cuts through Hyungwon’s blissful slumber—“I think this is your stop.”

He snuggles a little closer, seeking more warmth, then it slowly dawns on him that he isn’t in bed. His eyes shoot open and he realizes with a creeping sense of horror that he’s curled up on the plastic bus seat with his head resting on someone’s shoulder; he sits up quickly, his cheeks aflame and ready to apologize, when he sees to his utter mortification that he had in fact fallen asleep on Pooh Bear’s shoulder. But Pooh Bear isn’t looking at him; Hyungwon follows his line of vision down to the giant wet spot gracing his grey suit jacket. In slow motion, Hyungwon raises a shaky finger to the wetness on his chin—and every word escapes him but a whispered, “Oh, shit.”

Then he scrambles off the bus just before the doors close and he doesn’t look back.

/

Every time Hyungwon thinks about Pooh Bear’s cute look of concern, the little wrinkle between his eyebrows, his brain smacks him with the memory of that damn wet spot. 

“I drooled all over him,” Hyungwon whines as he pulls the comforter back over his head, wishing that the earth would swallow him whole. “I can _ never _ see him again.”

“You’re being awfully dramatic,” Kihyun says as he sits next to him on the bed and runs a soothing hand over his back before mercilessly throwing off his covers.

“I hate you,” Hyungwon grumbles as he curls into a ball and blindly reaches for the comforter. 

“Well, you’re the one who decided to avoid the bus forever,” Kihyun mutters as he checks the time, “and if you’re going to get into work on time, you’re going to have to leave in about seven minutes.”

Now that Hyungwon takes the subway he needs to wake up almost an hour earlier than normal so that he can transfer lines, then walk the rest of the way to work. The subway leaves him tired and disgruntled, but he would rather be inconvenienced than face the memory of that damn wet spot on his crush’s shoulder. Three weeks pass without so much as a hiccup, until one morning Hyungwon sleeps through his alarm and Kihyun isn’t there to gently nag him.

“Shit,” he swears as he falls out of bed, before blindly throwing on black slacks, a white button down shirt and a grey wool jacket; he brushes his teeth and grabs a banana for a quick breakfast, but he knows with a sinking sense of certainty that even if he magically teleports to the train station, he will be horrendously late to work. Swallowing his pride, he trudges over to the bus station, feeling his stomach flipping with each step he takes.

_ This is silly_, he thinks as he boards the bus. All Hyungwon needs to do is apologize for accidentally falling asleep on him, then they can both go about their lives and forget that this ever happened. He breathes a sigh of relief and looks out the window; the autumn air is crisp and the sky is a cloudless, cerulean blue. Seoulites crowd the sidewalks, walking and chattering, enjoying the gorgeous weather.

The bus pulls over to the curb and Hyungwon checks the time—7:17 am on the dot. He watches as Pooh Bear slurps down the dregs of his coffee and boards the bus. His heart beats loud in his ears and he stares down at his shoes, picking an invisible thread off his pants as he ticks through his plan. Stare out the window. Be so enthralled with the scenery that he “accidentally” ignores Pooh Bear until it’s time to hop off the bus. Push the button for his stop then say in the most cool and unaffected way possible, “Sorry for falling asleep that one time.” 

Foolproof.

“Hi,” Pooh Bear greets as he sits down right next to him, immediately obliterating his plan. “I’m Son Hyunwoo.”

Hyungwon stares at him, scrambling for a new plan, then decides _ fuck it_. “Hello. Chae Hyungwon.” They’re silent for a few moments. Hyungwon looks down at his hands, catching himself smiling when he hears Hyunwoo repeat his name under his breath. “I’m sorry about your jacket and uh, sleeping on your shoulder. I don’t normally do that.” 

Hyunwoo laughs, a sweet sound that makes Hyungwon feel warm all over. “I felt so bad waking you up. You seemed really comfortable.”

Hyungwon covers his flushed face, muttering, “How embarrassing.”

“You were cute,” Hyunwoo insists and knocks their shoulders together until Hyungwon looks at him through his fingers. Hyunwoo’s ears and cheeks are tinged pink, and instead of the weird screaming Hyungwon is usually inclined to do when he’s talking to a cute guy, he feels an unmistakable rush of affection.

“Cute, huh?” Hyungwon repeats as he cocks his head, feeling a flutter in his stomach when Hyunwoo nods his head, his lips curling into a shy smile. 

The next thirty minutes seem to fly by as they talk about their jobs—Hyunwoo is an investment banker—and Hyungwon feels ebullience bubble under his skin as they discuss their favorite movies and music, pleased to discover that they have similar tastes. Naturally shy, Hyungwon usually takes a while to warm up to people, so he’s stunned by the crush of disappointment he feels when it’s time to hit the button for his stop.

“Can I take you out for coffee sometime?” Hyunwoo seems to force out the question, his words mashed together in an anxious rush.

“I should be the one asking you that since I ruined your jacket,” Hyungwon says and he is rewarded with another rumble of warm laughter that makes him weak, “but, yeah, I would love to get coffee with you.” 

“See you later, Hyungwon,” Hyunwoo murmurs as they finish exchanging numbers and the bus pulls over, signaling that it’s time for Hyungwon to leave.

Hyungwon waves goodbye and he catches himself smiling the whole rest of the day, already looking forward to the next.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed the fic! If you're feeling up to it, please leave a comment! They make my day ♡


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